Guardian of the Gulf

Guardian of the Gulf. Fort Jefferson. Fort Jefferson, the largest all-masonry fort in the United States, was built between 1846 and 1875 to protect the nation's gateway to the Gulf of Mexico. Supply and subsidence problems and the Civil War delayed construction. Sections of the fort were intentionally never completed because of fears that additional weight would cause further settling and cracking. Fort Jefterson illustrates the pinnacle of masonry fort architecture and engineering in the United States and features nearly 2,000 arches. Time, weather, and water continue to take their toll, necessitating ongoing stabilization and restoration projects., (captions) , The moat wall, called the counterscarp, protects the fort’s main walls from battering waves and prevented enemy ships from reaching the main wall or scarp., After Florida left the Union in 1861, the red bricks along the top of the fort’s walls were shipped from Maine, a distance of nearly 2,000 miles., The original tan bricks on the lower two tiers came from brickyards near Pensacola before Florida seceded from the Union. Overall,16 million bricks were used., From a distance these built-in recessed sections, called “blind embrasures,” look like additional gun ports., The corbeled arches formed a ledge that helped prevent rainwater from running down the face of the fort., Wrought-iron Totten shutters opened when guns were fired and closed automatically between shots to protect the cannon and gun crews. The iron rusted in the salt air, expanded, and pushed the bricks apart. A program to replace the shutters with composite replicas began in 2002., Remains of original Totten shutter , Replica Totten shutter